Backup

Solution Guide
Introducing backup solutions in different
user scenarios

BACKUP
SOLUTION
GUIDE
 Backup Software
Synology NAS is a storage device that comes with various backup functions. Download and install from Package Center in the
operating system DSM (DiskStation Manager). Whether you are a business or personal user, you can build up a safe and secure
backup environment quickly and easily. This solution guide will introduce all the backup features provided by Synology. For more
detailed information about each feature, please check the Synology official website.

What's the difference between synchronization and backup?

Backup Synchronization

･ Uni-directional ･ Uni-directional or bi-directional

･ Performed in designated time ･ Keep the latest version in real time
･ Backup data undergoes data compression and deduplication, ･ The file structure in the source and destination is the same
which can only be used after restoration

Overview - Synology's data backup solutions

Data synchronization

Sync direction

USB Drive Cloud Station

Copy ShareSync

Drive Desktop Client

Cloud Station Backup Folder backup

Active Backup for Drive Server

G Suite

Active Backup for

Office 365 Cloud Sync
Active Backup for G Suite/
Office 365
Snapshot
Hyper Backup
Replication

Active Backup
for Business
Backup

Snapshot Replication Windows PC/Server macOS PC Smart photo USB/ Synology Hyper Backup Vault
File Server/VMware Time Machine backup eSATA HDDs Cloud2

1
Data Protection Strategy:
3-2-1 Backup Rule
Have at least 3 copies of your data. Keep these backups on 2 different mediums. Store at least 1 copy of the data offsite.

Unexpected data loss from hard drive failures, natural disasters, and ransomware attacks pose potential threats to your critical
data. Use the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy to protect your family photos, videos and corporate data, thereby minimizing the risk
of data loss. Please refer to the backup best practices below.

Home & personal user (1-10 devices): File backup only

or

Cloud Backup 2
Internet Synology Cloud
macOS Windows PC Station Hyper
Hyper Backup Vault

SOHO & small workgroup (11-50 devices): File & full backup

or

Windows Server Windows PC Active Backup Synology Cloud

2
Internet
Backup Hyper Hyper Backup Vault

SMB & cross-office (51 – 200 Devices): File & full backup

Production server upgrade test

Run on Virtual
Machine Manager

VMware Windows Windows Active Snapshot

Internet Replication Server
vCenter Server PC Backup Replication

Enterprise (200+ devices): File, LUN and full backup

BCP Measures: Instant Recovery from VMware and Windows servers to Virtual Machine Manager

Run on Virtual
Machine Manager
NAS as a backup target

Active
VMware Windows Windows Synology
Backup
vCenter Server PC High Availability
NAS as VM storage Snapshot Replication Server
Replication Internet
iSCSI

VM Hypervisor Synology
High Availability

Backup Solution Guide 2

 SCENARIO

Back up your
PC/Server to NAS
Home PCs, company servers, and virtual machines can all be
protected with a Synology NAS.

Cloud Station Backup

Easy to set up, protecting your valuable data on PC right away

･ Real-time backup for up to 32 versions

･ Incremental backup to reduce the required storage capacity
･ Intelli-versioning keeps only important versions (Patent pending)
･ Back up multiple PCs at home and in the office at the same time
･ Compatible with Windows, MAC, and Linux

Intelli-versioning
Keeps only important versions in a smarter way
Conventional backup only keeps the latest version

Configure your backup policy and the number of versions you

wish to keep on your NAS. You can also keep only important

Keep the most important versions versions with Synology's proprietary technology "Intelli-versioning"
or simply delete older versions first.
Versions retained

Restore unintentionally deleted data from

Version Explorer
Select a point in time where you wish to restore the version
in Version Explorer and retrieve the original data easily and
quickly

･ Restore your previous data with just a few clicks

･ Restore files to the original path from Version Explorer
･ Browse previous versions with an easy-to-understand calendar
･ Search missing files by keyword

2
3
Active Backup for Business Agentless Agent-based

Protect complicated enterprise IT environments with Comparison Table

reduced total cost File Server VMware Server

･ A portal that centralizes and manages all backup tasks from

Image Backup ㆒
PCs, Windows servers, and virtual machines
･ Back up all devices with a NAS, without any licenses Image Restoration ㆒

･ Run VM images directly on Synology VMM while supporting File / Folder

Restoration
backup verification, failover tests, etc
Block-level
File Cross image Cross image Cross image
Deduplication

Centralized management
Manage multiple servers/clients with only one NAS

Integrate all backup tasks from PCs, servers, and virtual machines.
With the intuitive interface, you can easily set up and monitor your
data backup. Features such as notifications and regular reports
are also available.

Maximize backup efficiency

Source Data Backup Repository Backup Repository Deduplication

First Backup Incremental Backup

Deploy enterprise-grade technology with paid features from other software vendors
Block-level incremental backup and global deduplication dramatically reduce backup time and storage capacity. In addition, it supports CBT
(Changed Block Tracking) technology when backing up Windows Server and VMware.

Backup Solution Guide 4

 SCENARIO

Back up from cloud

storage to local NAS
Synology NAS handles all backup tasks from personal files to
corporate SaaS.

Cloud Sync
Easily back up data onto the cloud Encrypted shared folder

･ Compatible with about 20 public cloud services

･ Select the folder and data type you wish to synchronize individually,
and set up the schedule and bandwidth limit
･ Support folder and data transmission encryptions
･ Support real-time backup
Cloud Sync Encrypted
connection

Complete setup in just a few steps

In Cloud Sync, simply log into the cloud service and follow
the wizard to finish the setup

To sync to your public cloud storage, select the public cloud

service in Cloud Sync and log in. You can specify the folder you
wish to connect to and set the sync direction. After the setup is
completed, the sync task will be initiated automatically.
Configure sync direction, schedule, encryption, and filter rules.

OneDrive
High-speed data access in the local network
Access files without external Internet speed limits
Cloud Sync Cloud Sync

Due to Internet speed limits, there may be some delay when

By backing up files from the cloud to the
accessing files on the cloud. By storing your data in the NAS, you local NAS, you can access the LAN at high
speeds in either Studio A or Studio B.
can access them at higher speeds in the local network.
Studio A Studio B

5
Active Backup for G Suite/Office 365
Secure your data on the SaaS platform by having
on-premises backups

･ In addition to business cloud storage, mails, calendars, and

Active Backup Active Backup
contact lists are also backed up at once for G Suite for Office 365
･ Flexible and intuitive operation interface for both IT
administrators and general employees
･ Supports incremental/mirroring/multi-version backup mode with Drive Mail Contact Calendar
flexible version retention policies

Auto-detect new user account

Detects new accounts and
perform backup tasks Ease the burden of administrators and streamline IT
management
Continuous Backup

By discovering new accounts and initiating the backup task

automatically, you can improve backup and management
efficiency. Continuous backup can also be performed to
Finance Public relations Sales Sales
new employee minimize the risk of data loss.

Smart restoration
Access critical information immediately even during
service downtime

By activating the Active Backup for G Suite/Office 365 portal, any

authorized users, such as IT administrators and general users can
easily find the data they wish to restore and export it with just a
few clicks.

Backup Solution Guide 6

 SCENARIO

Back up your NAS to

other devices
Back up the data in your Synology NAS to a remote site or other media as an
effective disaster recovery or anti-ransomware solution.

Hyper Backup
Back up data and configurations on NAS to other
Version control
server/media
Encryption

･ Synology NAS, and public cloud services can be specified as the

backup destination
･ Support data backup for shared folders, and application backup Hyper Backup

for packages and system settings

･ Save storage space and bandwidth with high data compression rate
･ Support data and transmission encryption
･ Calculate the estimated amount of data, required space, and time
External rsync Public Synology Synology
HDD Server clouds Cloud NAS
2

before conducting backup tasks

Set up schedules to manage bandwidth efficiently

Conduct backup tasks during off-peak hours

Schedule backup tasks at network off-peak times such as midnight

to avoid network bandwidth occupation during the day.

Storage Capacity Consumed (GB)

Multi-version backup
Utilize storage capacity for multiple versions

You can retain up to 65,535 versions, while incremental backup

keeps the required storage even if the version number increases.
Customize your own rotation policy of older versions to delete
unnecessary backups. Number of Versions

Traditional multi-version backup Hyper Backup

7
Snapshot Replication
Avoid human error with snapshots and use replication as
a DR countermeasure

･ Take snapshots every 5 minutes for shared folders, and every 15

minutes for iSCSI LUNs in the shortest time 5
mins
･ Shared folder and LUN snapshot can be replicated instantly to Head office production server Offsite backup server
minimize the impact on overall NAS performance
･ Switch services to the replicated server when the active server fails

Active - Active Relay

Tokyo Main Tokyo Sub Tokyo Fukuoka

Various replication combinations

Osaka Sub Osaka Main Fukuoka
Customizable based on company's structure and policies
Many to One One to Many

Configure replication with various combinations to flexibly fit into

Branch 1 Branch 1
Head Head individual business environments after taking snapshots.
Office Office
Branch 2 Branch 2

Shorten Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

Site A (Primary) Site B（Secondary）

VMware Site VMware Site

vCenter Server Recovery Manager vCenter Server Recovery Manager

VMware vSphere VMware vSphere

VMware Site Recovery Manager Compatible

When the active server fails, the compatible VMware Site Recovery Manager will conduct recovery directly from vCenter, simplifying the
restoration process.

Backup Solution Guide 8

Other backup features

Compatible with Time Machine

NAS can be the destination for Time Machine backup destination for multiple iMac and
MacBook at the same time. In order to prevent Time Machine from occupying all storage
space, it is recommended to specify the size of the Time Machine folder (for example, twice
or three times the storage capacity on your PC) in advance.

Copy the data of external storage device to NAS with USB Copy

NAS will recognize and conduct a copy task when a USB device is connected. Once the task
is pre-configured in the NAS, the task will run automatically when the USB device is plugged
into the NAS.

Back up photos from your smartphone

Back up your photos and videos from your mobile device manually or automatically to the
NAS with the DS photo or Moments mobile app. You can also upload them only when
Wi-Fi is connected.

Synology High Availability (SHA)

SHA combines two Synology NAS servers into one high-availability cluster (HA cluster). The
active server handles all data requests and services and continuously replicates all data to
the passive server. This collaboration allows the passive server to automatically take over
in case of any unexpected incidents, so that services and applications can be recovered
within minutes.

9
 Spec/
PC/Server Backup Cloud Storage Backup NAS Backup
Backup Types

Active Backup
Feature Cloud Station Active Backup Snapshot
Cloud Sync for G Suite/ Hyper Backup
Name Backup for Business Replication
Office 365

plus/xs/ plus / xs / plus/xs/

Available
FS Series and FS Series and FS Series and
Synology All models All models All models
Btrfs-compatible Btrfs-compatible Btrfs-compatible
Models
models models models

Cloud/NAS/
Backup
NAS NAS NAS or Cloud NAS External HDD/ NAS
Destination
rsync server

Multiversion Multiversion
Backup Mirroring Snapshot and
Incremental Mirroring Mirroring Mirroring
Mode Incremental Replication
Incremental Incremental

1,024 per shared

Number of 65,535 per shared
32 256 per task 1 256 per task folder, 256 per LUN,
Versions folder, 1 per LUN
65,535 in total

Remove older Remove older Remove older Remove older Remove older
Version
versions with versions with Smart Not applicable versions with Smart versions with versions with
Retention
Intelli-versioning Recycle Recycle customized rules customized rules

Recovery Point Shared folder:

Objective Real-time 1 time Real-time 1 time 1 5 mins
(RPO) LUN: 15 mins

Data With Agent: V

㆒ ㆒ ㆒ V ㆒
Compression Agentless: 一

Transmission
V V V V V V
Enccryption

Data 一 一
V V V ㆒
(Shared folder encryption)*
1
Encryption (Shared folder encryption)*
1

㆒ V V
Deduplication ㆒ V ㆒
(File / Cross image)* (File only)*3
2

NAS Package
And System
㆒ 一 一 一 V ㆒
Configuration
Backup

Cloud Station
Version Not applicable Hyper Backup File Station/Windows
 ackup
B Web portal Web portal
Browser (Depending on cloud services) Explorer File Explorer
Version Explorer

* 1: Data backed up to NAS with Active Backup for Business/G Suite/Office 365 can be encrypted for each folder.
* 2: Cross-images deduplication is applied when backing up Windows PC/Windows Server/VMware.
* 3: Files are subject to deduplication. Meanwhile, metadata such as e-mails, contact lists, calendars are not eligible for deduplication.

Backup Solution Guide 10

synology.com

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